Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2010 August 20

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August 20

why did mike myers and Robin Ruzan divorce?

This question has been moved here from the Humanities Desk Exxolon (talk) 00:38, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

why did mike myers and Robin Ruzan divorce? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.229.13.215 (talk) 00:07, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Contemporary news reports all say "no reason" was given. Short of looking at court records (if they are publically viewable) I can see no way to answer this. No information seems to have ever been released by Myers or Ruzan regarding the exact reason. As it's a private matter anyway I'm not in favour of going digging further for the info just to satisfy someone's curiousity. Exxolon (talk) 00:41, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

presumably, because one or both of them wanted to. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.128.189.180 (talk) 17:37, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Contemporary jazz and genre

I have been listening to contemporary jazz musicians such as Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman and Esbjorn Svensson and could not but conclude that these were all playing the same subgenre of jazz. It is melodic, contemplative and largely unexperimental; one gets the impression the musicians are academy trained. It is quite unlike the major distinctive genres of previous eras i.e. swing/big band/hard bop/fusion, but seemingly distinct from what Wikipedia terms contemporary jazz (a redirect to "smooth jazz", described as radio-friendly crossover stuff). Browsing around Allmusic, which is usually hyper-specific about subgenres, it seems as if they are at a loss to subcategorise the jazz of the last two decades: "It has become increasingly difficult to categorize modern jazz. A large segment of the music does not fit into any historical style; it is not as rock-oriented as fusion or as free as avant garde.""Post-bop" entry

I'm looking for a descriptive breakdown of the currents in contemporary jazz, specifically that of the above-listed musicians, but am unfamiliar with jazz criticism/literature. Original research and links to published theories both welcome, any help appreciated. Skomorokh 02:24, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Well, I tend to agree with allmusic. Jazz of the past two decades (including the artists you named) is, on the one hand, rooted in, or at the very least alludes to the history of jazz. In this respect, it resemble the "post-bop" or "mainstream" jazz to whom these terms were first applied (let's say 1960s - 1980s). Unlike those early "post-boppers", however, today's musicians also embrace the history of free jazz. Ornette Coleman has become just as much a part of their tradition and reference as Charlie Parker remains a part of it.

On the other hand, jazz has become increasingly globalized, incorporating influences and styles from all over the place. All four musicians you named are also influenced by pop music, rock music, even heavy metal. They grew up listening to hip hop and electronic music, and have incorporated some of it it in their own sound and style, consciously and sub-consciously.

As you already hinted at, jazz has also become more academic in comparison with earlier eras. Not only do far more jazz musicians get a degree in music than they used to, but jazz curricula also increasingly offer courses and workshops in other areas, from Indian classical music to contemporary classical music to Brazilian samba to just about anything else out there, including "commercial" music. When you compare today's drum students at Berklee with those in the 1970s, you see a huge increase in scope of styles and beats they are capable of playing at the highest level.

All of this flows into what you hear in "contemporary jazz". Despite all my rambling, I too am at loss how to further categorize it. To distinguish Joshua Redman's music from Esbjorn Svensson's (and they really are quite distinct), I'd have to refer to descriptions and possibly refer to influences I hear in the music, but I don't have a fitting label for them either. You might be interested in Down Beat's "Jazz 101 Menu", where the "newest" subgenres/chapters are titlled Young Lions, Experimental and Avant-Garde, Downtown New York Sounds, World View, and Modern Sounds. (linked you to the last, most "contemporary" one :-). ---Sluzzelin talk 07:37, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Would a solution be to turn Contemporary jazz into a disambiguation page, forking to Smooth jazz and to a new page which summarises the recent developments in style which you have outlined above, and which links to the musicians concerned? Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:03, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I certainly agree that "Contemporary jazz" should not redirect to "Smooth jazz" in any case at all. Contemporary is often a tricky label with changing meanings, often delineating something that will be split up or merged and categorized differently at a later point, in retrospect. This is particularly difficult for an encyclopedia. The article on contemporary classical music starts out with pointing to the term's ambiguity. But I can see the value of having an article on what's been happening in jazz of the 21st century, and "Contemporary jazz" would probably be its title. Who uses "contemporary jazz" as a synonym for "smooth jazz" outside the world of smooth jazz listeners? (I wonder). For the moment, it could redirect to Jazz (1980s-2010s) ---Sluzzelin talk 08:26, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

That sounds good. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:34, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a lot Sluzzelin, that was very interesting and I will check out the Down Beat article. Skomorokh 18:52, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Quote about "women's pictures"

There's a half-remembered quote that's nagging at my memory - something about films for women being defined by a female lead committing adultery all the way through the film, until at the end her husbands begs her forgiveness. Anyone remember who said it, what they said, and about what film? --Nicknack009 (talk) 15:52, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Song name

Resolved

Anybody know the name and artist of the song used in this trailer, here thanks Mo ainm~Talk 20:38, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

It's the Sleng Teng riddim (original by Wayne Smith), but not sure which of probably hundreds of tracks that are based on it this one is.--Michig (talk) 21:16, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

In fact, it sounds like Wayne Smith's "Under Mi Sleng Teng".--Michig (talk) 21:24, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Thats the one alright brilliant thanks Michig. Mo ainm~Talk 21:30, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

register

I am zydeco joseph how do i register myself with wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zydecojoseph (talk • contribs) 22:02, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

You've already registered an account, under which you can edit Wikipedia. If you're asking how can you get an article about yourself, please read Wikipedia:Autobiography, which explains why you shouldn't create an article about yourself. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 22:11, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

You can however create a userpage, which is outside of the article space, to describe yourself. --Jayron32 05:37, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

When you are logged in, please don't forget to sign your username by typing the four tildes (~~~~) Chevymontecarlo 08:02, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Interesting, the afterlife seems to have an Internet connection. [1] TomorrowTime (talk) 07:20, 25 August 2010 (UTC)